I learn that black people don’t have blue eyes. I learn that I am black. I have blue eyes. I put all these new facts into the new girl.
-- Narrator (Part I, Rachel)

Importance: Before she had lived in America, Rachel had never understood the differences in blacks and whites. Once she begins going to a school in America she learns that she has characteristics that do not completely fit those of a black person or those of a white person. Her blue eyes, which Rachel believes she inherited from her mother, are her major characteristic that distinguishes her from the other black people.

But when a person fakes happy, it has edges. Regular people may not see, but the people who count, they can see edges and lines where your smile ends and the real you, the sadness (me) or the anger (Grandma), begins.
-- Narrator (Part I, Rachel)

Importance: Because she is very perceptive, Rachel can sense even...